gatessmall111Learning the game of bridge isn’t the only thing Warren Buffet has taught Bill Gates.

In Gates’ first-ever post on LinkedIn titled “Three Things I’ve Learned from Warren Buffett,” the Microsoft co-founder sheds light on the lessons he’s gleaned from his good friend.

Gates writes about the first time he met Buffett over a dinner his mother organized when he wondered why he was meeting a guy “who picks stocks.”

I thought he just used various market-related things—like volume, or how the price had changed over time—to make his decisions. But when we started talking that day, he didn’t ask me about any of those things. Instead he started asking big questions about the fundamentals of our business. “Why can’t IBM do what Microsoft does? Why has Microsoft been so profitable?” That’s when I realized he thought about business in a much more profound way than I’d given him credit for.

Buffett also inspired Gates to write his annual letter and was a big help when The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation got off the ground.

We talked a lot about the idea that philanthropy could be just as impactful in its own way as software had been. It turns out that Warren’s brilliant way of looking at the world is just as useful in attacking poverty and disease as it is in building a business. He’s one of a kind.

Gates is now part of the LinkedIn influencers program, which debuted last October as a way for the public to read insightful posts from big-name people like Gates, Richard Branson and Barack Obama. You can read his post here.

Previously on GeekWire: Bill Gates says you should read these five books in 2013 … Gates, Buffett say online purchase taxes are fair and good for state budgets

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.